Methods, systems, and computer program products for establishing VoIP service in a network

ABSTRACT

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service is established in a network that that includes a Regional/Access Network (RAN) that facilitates differentiated end-to-end data transport between an Application Service Provider (ASP) and a Customer Premises Network (CPN) that includes Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). Application Programming interface (API) calls are used at the ASP to communicate with the RAN to establish VoIP service for the user having a user selected bandwidth and/or QoS associated therewith.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No.10/756,790, filed Jan. 13, 2004, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/470,650, filed May 15, 2003, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference as ifset forth in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to communication networks, and, moreparticularly, to managing bandwidth and/or Quality of Service (QoS) incommunication networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Internet is a decentralized network of computers that cancommunicate with one another via the Internet protocol (IP). Althoughthe Internet has its origins in a network created by the AdvancedResearch Project Agency (ARPA) in the 1960's, it has only recentlybecome a worldwide communication medium. To a large extent, theexplosive growth in use and traffic over the Internet is due to thedevelopment in the early 1990's of the worldwide Web (WWW), which is oneof several service facilities provided on the Internet. Other facilitiesinclude a variety of communication services such as electronic mail,telnet, Usenet newsgroups, internet relay chat (IRC), a variety ofinformation search services such as WAIS and Archie, and a variety ofinformation retrieval services such as FTP (file transfer protocol) andGopher.

The WWW is a client-server based facility that includes a number ofservers (computers connected to the Internet) on which Web pages orfiles reside, as well as clients (Web browsers), which interface theusers with the Web pages. Specifically, Web browsers and softwareapplications send a request over the WWW to a server requesting a Webpage identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) which notes both theserver where the Web page resides and the file or files on that serverwhich make up the Web page. The server then sends a copy of therequested file(s) to the Web browser, which in turn displays the Webpage to the user.

The topology of the WWW can be described as a network of networks, withproviders of network service called Network Service Providers, or NSPs.Servers that provide application-layer services as previously describedmay be described as Application Service Providers (ASPs). Sometimes asingle service provider does both functions within a single business

In recent years, broadband access technologies, such as digitalsubscriber line (DSL), cable modems, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM),and frame relay have facilitated the communication of voice, video, anddata over the Internet and other public and private networks. Becausebroadband technologies are typically deployed by a single transportservice provider, like a Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC), theirRegional and Access Networks (RAN) are often shared by many NSPs andASPs offering services that range from Internet access and VPN access toVoice over IP, Video on Demand, and Gaming. Up until recently, a givenCustomer Premises Network (CPN) would have been connected to a singleservice provider in a generic way, however a new standard for RANservice (DSL Forum TR-059) provides a RAN architecture that allowssimultaneous access to multiple NSPs and ASPs and for differentiatingthe data transport service provided by a RAN to these service providers.

Moreover, broadband access technology has allowed service providers toexpand their content and service offerings to both business and homeusers. For example, a user may subscribe to multiple services orapplications, such as voice service, Internet access service, a videoservice, a gaming service, etc. from one or more service providers.These services and/or applications may be delivered over a singlenetwork connection, such as a DSL line. Unfortunately, with multiple newconnectivity options and applications that require specificcharacteristics from the network, there is also a need to establish QoSand bandwidth allocation among multiple services and/or applications soas to customize the content delivery according to the users' and/orproviders' preferences.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to some embodiments of the present invention, voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP) service is established in a network that thatcomprises a Regional/Access Network (RAN) that facilitatesdifferentiated end-to-end data transport between an Application ServiceProvider (ASP) and a Customer Premises Network (CPN) that includesCustomer Premises Equipment (CPE). Application Programming interface(API) calls are used at the ASP to communicate with the RAN to establishVoIP service for the user having a user selected bandwidth and/or QoSassociated therewith.

In other embodiments of the present invention, the ASP receives arequest from the user to register for VoIP service before using APIcalls at the ASP to communicate with the RAN.

In still other embodiments of the present invention, the CPE comprises aRouting Gateway (RG).

In still other embodiments of the present invention, API calls are usedat the ASP to communicate with the RAN to obtain a bandwidth rangeand/or QoS capabilities from the RAN. The user is presented with, viathe ASP, at least one bandwidth/QoS option within the bandwidth rangeand/or QoS capabilities and/or at least one derived service optionreceived from the RAN.

In still other embodiments of the present invention, a user selection ofone of the at least one bandwidth/QoS option and/or QoS capabilityand/or at least one derived service option is obtained at the ASP. TheRAN is updated with a profile of information to provide the selectedbandwidth/QoS option and/or QoS capability and/or derived service optionfor the user's VoIP service.

In still other embodiments of the present invention, the CPE is updatedwith the profile of information to provide the selected bandwidth/QoSoption and/or QoS capability for the user's VoIP service.

In still other embodiments of the present invention, a rate limit and/orQoS associated with a communication queue in the RAN that is used toprocess VoIP traffic associated with the user's VoIP service is updatedbased on the profile of information.

In still other embodiments of the present invention, a VoIP call betweenthe user and another user is processed using the profile of informationin the RAN and the CPE.

In further embodiments of the present invention, the ASP isauthenticated with the RAN prior to using API calls at the ASP tocommunicate with the RAN to establish VoIP service for the user.

In still further embodiments of the present invention, an establishservice session request message is sent from the ASP to the RAN thatcontains an identification of the ASP and authorization credentials, andan establish service session response message is sent from the RAN tothe ASP that contains an authentication result.

In still further embodiments of the present invention, the ASP is billedbased on the user selected bandwidth for the VoIP service.

In still further embodiments of the present invention, the ASP is billedbased on a facility purchased to connect the ASP to the RAN.

In still further embodiments of the present invention, the RAN comprisesa Broadband Remote Access Server (BRAS).

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according toembodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponreview of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or computerprogram products be included within this description, be within thescope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features of the present invention will be more readily understoodfrom the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereofwhen read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) architecture using anapplication framework infrastructure in accordance with some embodimentsof the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are flowcharts that illustrate operations for establishinga VoIP service in a network; and

FIG. 4 is an event diagram that illustrates operations of the VoIParchitecture of FIG. 2 in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit theinvention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, theinvention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theclaims. It should be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specifythe presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items. Like reference numbers signify like elements throughoutthe description of the figures.

The present invention may be embodied as systems, methods, and/orcomputer program products. Accordingly, the present invention may beembodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, residentsoftware, micro-code, etc.). Furthermore, the present invention may takethe form of a computer program product on a computer-usable orcomputer-readable storage medium having computer-usable orcomputer-readable program code embodied in the medium for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system. In the context of thisdocument, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be anymedium that can contain or store the program for use by or in connectionwith the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example butnot limited to, an electronic. magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device. More specificexamples (a nonexhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium wouldinclude the following: an electrical connection having one or morewires, a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, and a portable compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM).

Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the contextof digital subscriber line (DSL) technology for purposes ofillustration. It will be understood that the present invention is notlimited to DSL technology. Indeed, other communication technologiesand/or network configurations, such as, but not limited to, asynchronoustransfer mode (ATM), frame relay, hybrid fiber coax (HFC), wirelessbroadband, and/or Ethernet may also be used in other embodiments of thepresent invention. In general, the present invention is not limited toany communication technology and/or network configuration, but isintended to encompass any technology and/or network configurationcapable of carrying out operations described herein. Embodiments of thepresent invention are also described herein in the context of managingquality of service (QoS). As used herein, QoS includes, but is notlimited to, treatment applied to an access session, application flow,and/or packet with respect to scheduling a resource, bandwidthallocation, and/or delivery target in an individual element or across anend-to-end system.

As used herein, the term “protocol” refers to a defined set of rulesthat govern the exchange of data or information between two or moreentities. In addition, a “protocol layer” refers to the hierarchicalprotocol structure represented by the open systems interconnection (OSI)model developed by the International Organization for Standardization inwhich layer one corresponds to the physical layer, layer two correspondsto the data link layer, layer three corresponds to the network layer,layer four corresponds to the transport layer, layer five corresponds tothe session layer, layer six corresponds to the presentation layer, andlayer seven corresponds to the application layer.

Applicants hereby incorporate by reference the disclosure of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/756,790, filed Jan. 13, 2004, from which thepresent application claims priority, in its entirety as if set forthfully herein. U.S. application Ser. No. 10/756,790 provides a detaileddisclosure of, among other things, DSL Application Frameworks accordingto some embodiments of the present invention.

Methods, systems, and/or computer program products for establishing VoIPservice in a network that comprises a Regional/Access Network (RAN) thatfacilitates differentiated end-to-end data transport between a NetworkService Provider (NSP) and/or an Application Service Provider (ASP) anda Customer Premises Network (CPN) that includes Customer PremisesEquipment, such as, for example, a Routing Gateway (RG), according tosome embodiments of the present invention, will now be described.

VoIP is generally considered the migration of narrow band voice servicesinto an IP network. Once voice is provided though an IP network, it canbe integrated with other IP services providing capabilities that may notbe achievable or cost effective in the PSTN. VoIP can take on variousservice models. This use case focuses on a service provider centric(ASP) model rather than a completely decoupled peer-to-peer model.Additionally, the use of SIP as the application protocol is assumed.FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary VoIP service architecture, in accordancewith some embodiments of the present invention. A centralized SIP proxydevice is deployed in the service provider's network that handlesendpoint registration and authentication, feature activation, and callrouting. For connectivity to the PSTN and audio conferencingcapabilities, the ASP has also deployed a media server/gateway for thisfunction.

VoIP can combine aspects of a network service as well as a peer-to-peerservice (signaling vs. Bearer). Similar to the previous SIP based videoconferencing example, a VoIP service may use randomly assigned RTP portsto transport the bearer traffic. Call signaling follows a client networkserver paradigm, but the bearer traffic can be either peer-to-peer (SIPphone to SIP Phone) or client to network server (SIP Phone to mediagateway). Client to network server flows can be simply classified usingthe destination address of the SIP proxy or media server/gateway.Peer-to-peer traffic may not be as easily classified given that thedynamic nature of RTP. If multi-party audio conferencing will be afeature of the VoIP service, then a media server (mixer) may berequired. Two-way calls between SIP users could be routed to theconference bridge providing a well-known IP address that can be used forclassification. Alternatives to this approach include:

-   -   Route peer-to-peer calls through a well known network proxy        device (presumably less expensive than a mixer because the are        no DSPs required)    -   Allow the CPE to mark the traffic as VoIP (using the        differentiated services code point) and in the network police        the bandwidth allocated to that class (i.e. EF) on a per        subscriber basis.        For simplicity, this use case will assume that the CPE will mark        the traffic and be policed in the network.

The CPE could either be a SIP phone, analog terminal adaptor, or anIntegrated Access Device (IAD) that has a built in xDSL modem inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention. In thenon-integrated scenario it is assumed that the RG has ALG capabilitiesfor NAT, firewall, and QoS.

The present invention is described herein with reference to flowchartand/or block diagram illustrations of methods, systems, and computerprogram products in accordance with exemplary embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart and/orblock diagram illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartand/or block diagram illustrations, may be implemented by computerprogram instructions and/or hardware operations. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerusable or computer-readable memory that may direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer usable orcomputer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture includinginstructions that implement the function specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

Referring now to FIG. 2, operations for establishing VoIP service in anetwork begin at block 200 where a request is optionally received at theASP from a user to register for VoIP service. At block 210, the ASP usesApplication Programming Interface (API) calls to communicate with theRAN (e.g., the BRAS) to establish VoIP service for the user. The VoIPservice has a user selected bandwidth and/or QoS associated therewith.The API may comprise the Application-to-Network Interface (ANI) definedbetween the RAN and an ASP. Advantageously, the API may allow the ASP toestablish VoIP service regardless of the technology used within the RAN.

Operations for establishing VoIP service in a network, in accordancewith further embodiments of the present invention, will now be describedwith respect to FIG. 3 and the event diagram of FIG. 4. With respect toFIG. 4, the numbers in square brackets are used to coordinate thedescriptive text with the figure. Referring now to FIG. 3, operationsbegin at block 300 where the ASP optionally receives a user request toregister for VoIP service. At block 310, the ASP is authenticated at theRAN. This is illustrated by events [1] and [2] in FIG. 4. In accordancewith particular embodiments of the present invention, the ASP may beauthenticated by sending an establish service session request messagefrom the ASP to the RAN that contains an identification of the ASP alongwith authorization credentials. The RAN may send an establish servicesession response message back to the ASP that contains an authenticationresult.

The RAN may provide various billing options to the ASP. For example, theASP may be billed based on the user selected bandwidth for the VoIPservice. Alternatively, the ASP may be billed based on a facilitypurchased to connect the ASP to the RAN.

The user may then register with the ASP for VoIP service as indicated byevent [8] in FIG. 4. As part of the registration, the ASP, at block 320of FIG. 3, may send a query from the ASP to the RAN to obtainbandwidth/QoS options for the VoIP service as indicated by events [8]and [9] of FIG. 4. The user may, for example, download a VoIP clientapplication and, at block 330 of FIG. 3, select a bandwidth/QoS optionfor the VoIP service. The bandwidth/QoS options may include, but are notlimited to, a number of simultaneous lines and voice quality options perline. Moreover, the bandwidth/QoS options may include one or morederived service options, such as names corresponding to specific serviceoptions. For example, a user may be presented with the derived servicedoptions of gold, silver, and bronze, where the gold service levelprovides a higher level of bandwidth and/or QoS and the bronze levelprovides a lower level of bandwidth and/or QoS.

Once the user has selected one or more bandwidth/QoS options, the BRASis updated with a profile of information to provide the selectedbandwidth/QoS option(s) at block 340 of FIG. 3. This is illustrated byevents [10] through [12] of FIG. 4. As part of updating the BRAS withthe profile of information, a rate limit and/or QoS associated with acommunication queue in the BRAS that is used to process VoIP trafficassociated with the VoIP service may also be updated to support theselected bandwidth and/or QoS. Additionally, if the ASP is in the pay bythe bandwidth provisioned model, then a billing record may also begenerated to capture the amount of bandwidth requested by the ASP.

At block 350, the RG for the user is also updated with the profile ofinformation provided to the BRAS at block 340 to provide the selectedbandwidth/QoS for the user's VoIP service. This is illustrated by events[13] through [15] of FIG. 4.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the RGs of users A and B establish PPP sessionsbetween their RG's and the RAN as indicated by events [5] through [7].This may have occurred in advance of any VoIP activity (subscription orcall initiation). A VoIP call may be established between user A and userB using the VoIP service provided by the ASP. For example, user Adecides to call user B using the VoIP ASP's service as illustrated byevent [21]. The ASP verifies that users A and B have active accounts andperforms telephone number to IP address mapping and informs B of aninbound call. The RTP streams from the users are placed appropriately inthe queues by the classifiers in the RG and the BRAS as illustrated byevents [21] through [23].

More sophisticated VoIP features may also be provided by the ASP inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention. Forexample, the ASP may provide a VoIP service to support the following:

-   -   Calls to and from the PSTN    -   IP to IP calls across service providers    -   N-way audio conferencing. The addition of a conference bridge        server would be just another network address associated with the        ASPs VoIP service and used for classification.

Voice mail

-   -   Announcement server (network announcements, human operator        access)    -   Interactive Messaging or Unified Messaging integration

The flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the architecture,functionality, and operations of some embodiments of systems, methods,and computer program products for establishing VoIP service in anetwork. In this regard, each block represents a module, segment, orportion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat in other implementations, the function(s) noted in the blocks mayoccur out of the order noted in FIGS. 2 and 3. For example, two blocksshown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrentlyor the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, dependingon the functionality involved.

Many variations and modifications can be made to the embodimentsdescribed herein without substantially departing from the principles ofthe present invention. All such variations and modifications areintended to be included herein within the scope of the presentinvention, as set forth in the following claims.

1. A method of establishing voice over Internet Protocol service in anetwork that comprises a regional access network that facilitatesdifferentiated end-to-end data transport between an application serviceprovider and a customer premises network that includes customer premisesequipment, comprising: using application programming interface callsbetween the application service provider and the regional access networkto communicate directly with the regional access network withouttraversing any intermediate network nodes to establish voice overInternet Protocol service for a user; and receiving a request at theapplication service provider from the user to register for voice overInternet Protocol service before using application programming interfacecalls at the application service provider to communicate with theregional access network; wherein using the application programminginterface calls to communicate with the regional access network toestablish voice over Internet Protocol service for the user comprises:using application programming interface calls to communicate directlywith the regional access network without traversing any of theintermediate network nodes to obtain a bandwidth range, quality ofservice capabilities, and at least one derived service option from theregional access network; and presenting to the user via the applicationservice provider a bandwidth within the bandwidth range and a quality ofservice option within the quality of service capabilities and the atleast one derived service option.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thecustomer premises equipment comprises a routing gateway.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: obtaining a user selection of at leastone of the bandwidth and the quality of service option at theapplication service provider; and updating the regional access networkwith a profile of information to provide the at least one of thebandwidth and quality of service option that was selected for the user'svoice over Internet Protocol service.
 4. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising: updating the customer premises equipment with the profile ofinformation to provide the at least one of the bandwidth and the qualityof service option that was selected for the user's voice over InternetProtocol service.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein updating theregional access network with the profile comprises: updating a ratelimit and quality of service associated with a communication queue inthe regional access network that is used to process voice over InternetProtocol traffic associated with the user's voice over Internet Protocolservice.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: processing avoice over Internet Protocol call between the user and another userusing the profile of information in the regional access network and thecustomer premises equipment.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: authenticating the application service provider with theregional access network prior to using application programming interfacecalls at the application service provider to communicate with theregional access network to establish voice over Internet Protocolservice for the user.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein authenticatingthe application service provider with the regional access networkcomprises: sending an establish service session request message from theapplication service provider to the regional access network thatcontains an identification of the application service provider andauthorization credentials; and sending an establish service sessionresponse message from the regional access network to the applicationservice provider that contains an authentication result.
 9. The methodof claim 3, further comprising: using the regional access network tobill the application service provider based on the bandwidth selected bythe user for the voice over Internet Protocol service.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: using the regional access network to billthe application service provider based on a facility purchased toconnect the application service provider to the regional access network.11. The method of claim 1, wherein the regional access network comprisesa broadband remote access server.
 12. A system for establishing voiceover Internet Protocol service in a network, comprising: a regionalaccess network that facilitates differentiated end-to-end data transportbetween an application service provider and a customer premises networkthat includes customer premises equipment; and means for usingapplication programming interface calls between the application serviceprovider and the regional access network to communicate directly withthe regional access network without traversing any intermediate networknodes to establish voice over Internet Protocol service for a user; andmeans for receiving a request at the application service provider fromthe user to register for voice over Internet Protocol service beforeusing application programming interface calls at the application serviceprovider to communicate with the regional access network; wherein themeans for using the application programming interface calls tocommunicate with the regional access network to establish voice overInternet Protocol service for the user comprises: means for usingapplication programming interface calls to communicate directly with theregional access network without traversing any of the intermediatenetwork nodes to obtain a bandwidth range, quality of servicecapabilities, and at least one derived service option from the regionalaccess network; and means for presenting to the user via the applicationservice provider a bandwidth within the bandwidth range and a quality ofservice option within the quality of service capabilities and the atleast one derived service option.
 13. The system of claim 12, whereinthe customer premises equipment comprises a routing gateway.
 14. Thesystem of claim 12, further comprising: means for obtaining a userselection of at least one of the bandwidth and quality of service optionat the application service provider; and means for updating the regionalaccess network with a profile of information to provide the at least oneof the bandwidth and the quality of service option that was selected forthe user's voice over Internet Protocol service.
 15. The system of claim12, further comprising: means for updating the customer premisesequipment with the profile of information to provide the at least one ofthe bandwidth and the quality of service option that was selected forthe user's voice over Internet Protocol service.
 16. The system of claim15, wherein the means for updating the regional access network with theprofile comprises: means for updating a rate limit and quality ofservice associated with a communication queue in the regional accessnetwork that is used to process voice over Internet Protocol trafficassociated with the user's voice over Internet Protocol service.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, further comprising: means for processing a voiceover Internet Protocol call between the user and another user using theprofile of information in the regional access network and the customerpremises equipment.
 18. The system of claim 12, further comprising:means for authenticating the application service provider with theregional access network prior to using application programming interfacecalls at the application service provider to communicate with theregional access network to establish voice over Internet Protocolservice for the user.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the means forauthenticating the application service provider with the regional accessnetwork comprises: means for sending an establish service sessionrequest message from the application service provider to the regionalaccess network that contains an identification of the applicationservice provider and authorization credentials; and means for sending anestablish service session response message from the regional accessnetwork to the application service provider that contains anauthentication result.
 20. The system of claim 12, further comprising:means for billing the application service provider based on thebandwidth selected by the user for the voice over Internet Protocolservice.
 21. The system of claim 12, further comprising: means forbilling the application service provider based on a facility purchasedto connect the application service provider to the regional accessnetwork.
 22. The system of claim 12, wherein the regional access networkcomprises a broadband remote access server.
 23. A computer programproduct for establishing voice over Internet Protocol service in anetwork that comprises a regional access network that facilitatesdifferentiated end-to-end data transport between an application serviceprovider and a customer premises network that includes customer premisesequipment, comprising: a computer readable storage medium havingcomputer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readableprogram code comprising: computer readable program code configured touse application programming interface calls between the applicationservice provider and the regional access network to communicate directlywith the regional access network without traversing any intermediatenetwork nodes to establish voice over Internet Protocol service for auser; and computer readable program code configured to receive a requestat the application service provider from the user to register for voiceover Internet Protocol service before using application programminginterface calls at the application service provider to communicate withthe regional access network; wherein the computer readable program codeconfigured to use the application programming interface calls tocommunicate with the regional access network to establish voice overInternet Protocol service for the user comprises: computer readableprogram code configured to use application programming interface callsto communicate directly with the regional access network withouttraversing any of the intermediate network nodes to obtain a bandwidthrange, quality of service capabilities, and at least one derived serviceoption from the regional access network; and computer readable programcode configured to present to the user via the application serviceprovider a bandwidth within the bandwidth range and a quality of serviceoption within the quality of service capabilities and at the least onederived service option.
 24. The computer program product of claim 23,wherein the customer premises equipment comprises a routing gateway. 25.The computer program product of claim 23, further comprising: computerreadable program code configured to obtain a user selection of at leastone of the bandwidth and the quality of service option at theapplication service provider; and computer readable program codeconfigured to update the regional access network with a profile ofinformation to provide the at least one of the bandwidth and quality ofservice option that was selected for the user's voice over InternetProtocol service.
 26. The computer program product of claim 25, furthercomprising: computer readable program code configured to update thecustomer premises equipment with the profile of information to providethe at least one of the bandwidth and the quality of service option thatwas selected for the user's voice over Internet Protocol service. 27.The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the computer readableprogram code configured to update the regional access network with theprofile comprises: computer readable program code configured to update arate limit and quality of service associated with a communication queuein the regional access network that is used to process voice overInternet Protocol traffic associated with the user's voice over InternetProtocol service.
 28. The computer program product of claim 27, furthercomprising: computer readable program code configured to process a voiceover Internet Protocol call between the user and another user using theprofile of information in the regional access network and the customerpremises equipment.
 29. The computer program product of claim 23,further comprising: computer readable program code configured toauthenticate the application service provider with the regional accessnetwork prior to using application programming interface calls at theapplication service provider to communicate with the regional accessnetwork to establish voice over Internet Protocol service for the user.30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the computerreadable program code configured to authenticate the application serviceprovider with the regional access network comprises: computer readableprogram code configured to send an establish service session requestmessage from the application service provider to the regional accessnetwork that contains an identification of the application serviceprovider and authorization credentials; and computer readable programcode configured to send an establish service session response messagefrom the regional access network to the application service providerthat contains an authentication result.
 31. The computer program productof claim 25, further comprising: computer readable program codeconfigured to bill the application service provider based on thebandwidth selected by the user for the voice over Internet Protocolservice.
 32. The computer program product of claim 23, furthercomprising: computer readable program code configured to bill theapplication service provider based on a facility purchased to connectthe application service provider to the regional access network.
 33. Thecomputer program product of claim 23, wherein the regional accessnetwork comprises a broadband remote access server.